ELON — For the Graham boys’ basketball team, Wednesday night’s game at Western Alamance represented a potential pitfall after it opened the season on a high note the previous night.

But after a sluggish start, the Red Devils lit up the Warriors in the second quarter and cruised to a 71-48 victory.

“Our goal was to come out and not have a letdown after (Tuesday night). It took us (until) the second quarter to do that,” Graham coach Mike Williams said. “But our goal was to dictate from the start.”

After the teams slogged through a turnover-filled first quarter, Graham (2-0) led 13-6. That evolved into a 41-17 lead after Graham outscored the Warriors (0-2) by 28-11 in the second quarter.

The Red Devils accomplished Williams’ goal in the second frame by controlling the pace with their tenacious full-court pressure defense and a combination of inside and outside scoring.

Graham connected on 12 shots from 3-point ranges — a night after making 11 against Eastern Alamance in a 70-65 victory. While three Graham players hit from long range Tuesday, six players drained 3s against Western Alamance.

“We have a bunch of streak shooters. If they hit one, they’re going to hit two or three,” Williams said.

Kendall Patterson and Michael Ratliff each scored 15 points to lead Graham, with both players hitting a pair of 3s. While Patterson alternated between point guard and off-ball guard, Ratliff scored his points with an inside-out presence.

Ratliff also benefitted from Graham’s full-court pressure, which resulted in several transition points.

“We try to bring that pressure every night,” Ratliff said.

Despite Williams admitting that the Red Devils aren’t one of the bigger teams in the area in terms of height, Graham did have that advantage against Western Alamance.

It was one that forward Jeremy Williams said was key to take advantage of.

“We try to take advantage of their weakness, and we knew they weren’t going to be as big as us,” Williams said.

And with guards like Patterson, Trent Torain (10 points) and Troy Bowden (three 3s), Williams, Ratliff and the other inside players for Graham stand to benefit the most from the guards’ play.

“Getting rebounds sometimes, it opens up for us when they key on the guards,” Williams said. “They start doubling the guards and leave us open.”

In the third quarter, five of Graham’s six field goals were 3s. The Red Devils kept the pressure on during the second half and never allowed Western Alamance within 20 points during the second half.

For Western Alamance coach Carter Gerlach, he knew Graham controlled the pace and rarely allowed the Warriors to set up their halfcourt offense.

“It was a sloppy first quarter and we didn’t really get many possessions across half court and when we did, we rushed shots,” Gerlach said. “Then it just sort of unraveled there in the second quarter.”

Page 2 of 2 - The Warriors were led by T.J. Harris’ 16 points, while Davorous Graves added 12.

Western Alamance played without Andre Saunders, who hyperextended his right knee during Tuesday night’s game against Southern Alamance. He said he hopes to return within the next two weeks.